Railway electric signaling apparatus



Patented July 31. 1883.

G. A. SCOTT. RAILWAY ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS.

(No Model.)

FE vm.

(No Model.) 2 sheetssheet '2.

C. A. SCOTT. RAILWAY ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS. No. 282,230. "Patented July 31. 1883. X l l NV PETERS, Plwm-Llhagmpner. wnsningwm D. c.

the other signals of the system; but it may be 40.

-movements of coniiicting trains;

l UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A.` SCOTT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY ELECTRIC` SIGNALING APPARATUS.`

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Iletters Patent No. 282,230, dated Juiy (31, 1883.

Application filed April '16, ieee. (No model.) v

To @ZZ whom, it may concern: i

Be it known that I, CHARLns A. Soo'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Railway Electric Signaling Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference `being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-like letters indicating like parts-K- Figure 1, Sheet l, is a side View or View in elevation of so much of a Saxbyoand Farmer lever as is necessary to illustrate the manner `of employing the same in connection with the present invention, and also illustrating the arrangement with reference thereto of the devices acting `in immediate connection therewith. Fig. 2 illustrates by diagram the system of apparatus as applied to a railway-track; and Fig. 3, Sheet 2, illustrates a' modification thereof.

My present invention relates in a general way to apparatus for the proper protection of grade or street-railway crossings, switches, &c. In its preferred manner of use it constitutes a part of or addition to a system of manual interlocking levers such as are employed in the SaXby and Farmer system, and it is employed in such system to electrically lock and unlock the signal-lever which` gives a right of way to an approaching or expected train, it being understood that such lever, when moved to put its signal to safety,77 locks with signals at danger77 those levers whose signals govern the Hence the present invention relates chiefly to locking the signal that gives theright of way, and so locking applied to the locking of other levers than the one thus designated, and any such use of my invention is hereby included herein.

Referring iirst to Sheet l, A may represent the lever to be locked, and for' purposes of description I will assume it to be the lever which by actuating a signal-say at R-'gives the right lof way to a train approaching a crossing from the left on the track R.

The vertically-moving rod Bof this leverhas in connection therewith an electricallyactuated locking mechanism of any desired construction, the one shown consisting of an electro-n1agnet,P, an armature,

c, an armature-lever, 0, and a catch, c, adapt-` ed to engage a shoulder, notch, or recess, c, on the rod B; but I use this form or construction of lock only for illustration, as others may be used, and they may be applied to the lever itself or to any device moving therewith, or to the catch-rod itself, as in Jacksons patent, No, 255,998.

The electro-magnet I) is included `in a circuit which I will call No. 3, the wireswl of which, going through a battery, 9"', terminate, one in a bent armature-lever, e, and the other in a contact-stop, s. The armature-lever er is pivoted at e', has a hook or catch, e?, at its free end, and an armature, e3, at its other end, which armature is within the iniiluence of an electro-magnet, P and the latter` is arranged in a circuit, No. 1, the wires r2 of which go to the opposite rails of a short insulated section of track, R2, and other wires, 1", leading from such rails through a battery, rt, complete the circuit. Another circuit (marked No. 2) eX- tends from the battery r by wires, r through electro-magnet I, and to make and-break mechanism n of any desired construction,such as may be actuated to break the circuit in the manner presently to be described, butwill be self-closing under the action of a spring, u, Fig. l. This device has substantially the construction and operation shown and described in thelGassett and Fisher patent, No. 232,344; but other suitable form may be used, such as is adapted to make and break an electric circuit. Y The electro-magnet P2 of this No. 2 circuit is arranged in suitable position to operate an i armature-lever, t', which latter, pivoted at t',

is so constructed and arranged that when retracted its free end may be engaged bythe hook or catch e2. It is connected by wire el with a contact-stop, s. Dead-stops s2 s3 are to be added.

In order to actuate the circuit-breaker n, I arrange it with its plungerfhead n? in the path of the movement of aknob, b, which is pivoted IOO breaks circuit No. 2.

head on its upward stroke, push the plunger back far enough to break the circuit. On the downward stroke the knob will be lturned up by the plunger-head and pass without actuating it, and then drop down again into position.

Vith the apparatus in the position shown in 2, that being normal position, all three circuits are closed and the signal is at danger.77 rllhe operator, having set his other signals properly, locks them in position by shifting lever A through the agency of the usualA interlocking mechanism.' In doing so he also by suitable interposed connections shifts the signal R to safety, and the upward thrust or movement of the rod B, effected at the same time, brings knob b against plunger-head a2 and The armature-lever c', under the influence of its retractile spring, then goes to dead-stop s2, passes under the hook e, and is locked thereby as Vagainst the attractive influence of its electro-magnet P2. As soon as the armature-lever c leaves the contact-stop s, circuit No. 3 is broken at that point, and the hook or catch c2 of the armature-lever c then engages the recess a, and the leverA is locked and remains locked until the train passes the crossing, and by making connection between the opposite rails of insulated track-section RZ short-circuits thel battery #of circuit No. I. As al result of this, armature-lever e is free to turn under the action of its retractile spring toits dead-stop s. As circuit No. 2 has al ready been closed by theaction of the spring n, the magnet Pl will draw its armature-lever i, now unlocked, over to contact-stop s, and as soon as the tail of the train shall have left the section R2 the magnet P, being againin circuit, will bring its armature-lever e over to contactstop s, and circuit No. 3 will again be closed. Electro-magnet P-will then draw its armaturelever c so that the hook c2 will clear the recess a, and the signal-lever will be unlocked. l

In Fig. 3 I have shown the same system of apparatus as organized for use with a switch instead of a grade crossing. In this organization I only change the locking mechanism from the signal-lever A or its rod B to the switch -lever or the vertically moving connecting-rod B of such a lever. In this organization the switch will first be set, and this will bring the recess @opposite to the nib or hook c2. Then by moving the signal-lever to clear the signal, and in the same manner as above described, circuit No. 2 will be broken, which will break circuit No. 3 and lockv it open, andthereby lock the switch-lever. The

train in passing track section R2 will first short-circuit its battery, and in leaving will restore the circuit No. 1, so as to again close circuits Nos. 2 and 3 after the switch has been passed.

Any suitable track-instrument capable of breaking circuit No. 1 and restoring it after the train has passed may be substitutedfor the insulated section R2, and for convenience I use the term track -instrument77 in the claims as meaning the insulated section R2 or its described substitute.

The knob b is, in effect, a tappet-arm, and such device, when pivoted so as when moving one way to operate a make-andbreak mechanism, and when moving the other way not to operate it, I believe to be new with myself.

Other arrangements for Ainterlocking arma` ture-levers may be employed, provided the described operation is substantially preserved, and as regards all the devices referred to I include herein their mechanical equivalents.

I claim herein as my inventionl. rlhe combination of circuit No. l, governed as to its electrical 'condition by a trackinstrument, circuit No. 2, governed as to its electrical condition by a make and break mechanism operated by or from a hand-lever,

and a locking-circuit, No. 3, for operating a lever locking mechanism, substantially as set.

track-instrument to lock such locking-circuit in a broken condition, and a circuit through a train-actuated tracleinstrument for unlocking the vlocked armature-lever and unlocking the locked hand-lever, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES A. SCOTT;

Witnesses;

JOHN V. YoUNG, STEPHEN XV, TROWBR'IDGE.

IOO 

